Stacey

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1/5

( mahal ko eh :< )

THIRD PERSON POV

The restaurant was far too elegant for Stacey Sevilleja's taste, polished marble floors, crystal chandeliers, and an air of suffocating wealth. She adjusted the lapel of her tailored blazer, sighing as her father talked business with the host. Another dinner. Another setup. Another girl who'd probably stutter through introductions and disappear after the prenup was signed.

She didn't expect fireworks.

She definitely didn't expect Callista Reese Lopez.

The woman seated at the far end of the table stood as they approached, her posture regal, her black dress understated but sharp. Her eyes, lined with precision and calm calculation, landed on Stacey—and didn't flicker.

Not even a little.

Stacey froze mid-step. Her throat tightened as recognition settled like ice in her chest. The nerd. The girl with the glasses always too big for her face, the one she'd mocked for stuttering, the one who used to walk faster whenever Stacey and her clique appeared in the hallway.

Except... this wasn't that girl anymore.

Callista extended a hand politely. "Stacey."

Her voice was smooth. Unbothered. Detached.

And that stung more than if she'd slapped her.

Stacey stared, momentarily stripped of the usual smirk she wore like armor. "Callista," she said, the name foreign on her tongue, heavy with the weight of things unsaid.

They shook hands.

Stacey flinched—because for just a second, Callista squeezed her fingers a little too hard.

"It's been a while, huh..." Stacey said, voice low as her eyes swept over the woman in front of her.

Callista turned her head slowly, expression unreadable. "It has."

They stood just outside the restaurant now, beneath the golden glow of the building's entry lights. The others were still inside, giving them a moment alone—one that felt heavier than it should.

Stacey shifted on her feet, hands tucked into the pockets of her slacks. Her usual confidence faltered as she looked at the woman she remembered being smaller, softer, easier to ignore. But Callista wasn't shrinking now. She stood tall, chin tilted slightly in that poised, untouchable way that made Stacey's stomach twist.

"You've changed," Stacey added, trying for casual.

Callista offered a smile. It didn't reach her eyes. "People do."

"I didn't think you'd actually show up," Stacey said, tone bordering on a challenge.

"I almost didn't," Callista replied smoothly. "But then I remembered how much my parents wanted this arrangement. And how much your father does too."

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